Tales of Yoshirou: Zanpakutou Tales Arc
by Uraharaisgod
Summary: A spin off from the main storyline based around the popular non-canon arc, Yoshirou faces new trials as an new enemy threatens SS once more, but will he survive when the enemy now is his own partner who once almost destroyed Soul Society?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello to all, sorry for the inconvenience, but since I was getting confused with how to do it, in the end I am going to be writing this story arc as a split off in a new story instead of keeping the documents inside the main part of my story, as such all events in here will not be brought back into the main storyline. While this may not sound very cool, it now gives me a much wider range of the story that I can do, since certain things could not be done in this and kept in the original storyline without ruining relationships between charecters. Anyhow, read on and (hopefully) enjoy!**

* * *

><p>A Zanpakutou's shape and abilities are based on their Shinigami's soul. Once a Shinigami learns their swords name, they are able to communicate with one another and grow stronger together. They are born with their Shinigami, and they die with their Shinigami. They are Zanpakutou.<p>

In a cavern, hidden within a series of deep catacombs, deep below the busy streets of the Seireitei, the main living areas of the elite force of Soul Society, the Gotei 13, an unknown group of entities convened in secret. The cavern was silent, only the echoes created as droplet after droplet of water fell from the mighty stalactites that adorned the ceiling of the huge cavern, lit dimly by the mysterious pool of water that glowed beneath, and the numerous torches that lined the walls, casting a fiery glow that despite its brightness, failed to light the entire immense size of the cavern.

Or the cavern was meant to be silent, for instead it echoed not only with the tiny drips of water splashes, but echoed far louder with the mighty snores of the giant man who had fallen asleep, his posture strewn across an empty part of the caverns floor, totally oblivious of the others who also sat in relevant silence, forced to put up with his noise. Many of the people waiting were either sat amongst the many ledges that had been naturally forged in the cavern, or else seated around the table, either just relaxing, or in one person's case, reading a small book.

Out of all of the entities who waited patiently for their comrade to return, one woman in particular sat atop one of the ledges along the caverns wall, swinging her legs to and fro in her boredom. Boredom finally winning out over patience, the woman swung her legs forward, pushing herself off of the ledge as she dropped to the floor, the movement revealing a long, sinuous cat tail, showing that along with the pink, almost fur that adorned her body, that she was not as human as her form would have originally made a person guess.

"Hey, how long do we have to stay here? I'm so bored!"-the woman complained, stretching her stiff arms as if to prove her point. However, garnering no reaction from her colleagues, she started towards the long stairs, hewn out of the rock, that would lead to the exit, announcing-"I'm going outside."

However, no sooner she started than a soft female voice called out-"Please don't." The cat girl paused, turning to the voice along with the heads of those who sat around the table, now curious to hear what the new person had to say. Stepping out of the shadows slightly, the owner of the female voice was revealed to be a beautiful lady in a snow white kimono, her face showing her pale skin and her dark blue eyes, along with a small smile as she softly explained-"We're still missing a few people"

The cat girl scowled slightly to herself as she murmured-"A few, huh?" Casting her gaze across the assembled individuals, they alone numbering a rather sizable group as they were, she asked-"How many people are coming, anyway?" The snow white woman simply replied-"Well, I don't know."

Their conversation was cut into by another person who sat upon the ledges, cackling almost maniacally, hefting a massive Kusarigama over one shoulder as he said-"Who cares how many come? I can handle this on my own!" However, he was surprisingly replied to by a gruff voice, the owner of it woken from the crazed man's shouting and presumably annoyed that his sleep had been interrupted as he countered-"Shaddup! There's no rush." As he said this, a small yellow light seemed to float around excitedly nearby, although on closer examination, it could be seen that within the glow there was a tiny human like figure, her strange clothing adorned in a hornet stripe pattern, with one arm covered in an almost bee like stinger as she replied-"Seriously! Ladies don't like men who rush things."

However, before it could all devolve into a full blown argument, they were interrupted by a loud echo of a door being opened nearby. From the top of the stone stairs, footstep after footstep echoed across the cavern, the owner of the noise slowly descending the stairs. Every man and woman's attention was taken by the sound, for they knew that only one person could be possibly returning at this time. Surely enough, a silhouette of a man could be seen through the darkness as he descended the steps slowly.

As he reached about halfway, one of the women stepped out of the shadows to greet him, the light now revealing a very young, almost childlike girl dressed in a plain white kimono, interestingly with a large pink ribbon that adorned her body, two large golden bells attached to each end, draped over her shoulders. This girl bowed respectfully as she greeted the man with-"Welcome back." However, the man didn't reply to the greeting, instead continuing his descent until he reached the level of the girl, pointing a hand behind him as he said-"He's our new friend." However, he did pause for one second to softly lay his hand upon the ladies shoulder, before continuing, saying-"Take care of him."

All attention now swung instead to the newly appearing silhouette of another man on the stairs, slowly descending in turn. As he entered the light of the torches, the illumination revealed his face sported a large, icy blue X mark across his features, his teal green hair long and wildly grown. However, what would be most unexpected for most humans was the almost collar of ice that adorned his samurai-esque robes. However, that would only be if one expected him to be human, for the entities in the cave, he looked as natural as any amongst them, apparently more interesting than some as the females in particular watched his proud gait, completely unfazed by the stares of all as he continued his descent. The tiny bee like lady flew over to the girl on the stairs, her eyes not leaving the figure of the man as she whispered to her-"He's kinda hot."

As the first man finally reached the bottom of the stairs, his form was finally see-able in the bright flame of the torches that hung from the walls. Unlike the man who was behind him, it was easy to see that this person was different to those around him. Although his body perfectly matched a tall humans form, his face was incredibly pale, possibly more so than the woman who had looked like a Yukki-Onna from before. However, it wasn't this that made his human form questionable, but the deep purple markings that surrounded his turquoise eyes, they were the most notable sign. Alike the others, he also had a different set of clothing that marked him out easily, a long white robe-like coat covered his body, with a collar of thick fur.

As he started to walk along the cavern proper, he was immediately interrupted by the impatient cat girl, rudely asking-"Hey, how long do we have to stay down here?" The tall man turned to her, replying-"Remain patient for just a while longer. Our comrades should all awaken soon." With this, he started to walk forward, as if aiming to walk straight past the cat girl. Annoyed at the reply, she complained-"But-" However, before she could manage to voice her complaint, the man suddenly raised his hand before her sharply, fingers splayed wide as he displayed his incredibly long nails, almost talons, that adorned his hand. Surprised by the move, the cat girl stopped her complaint.

Slowly, the man curled each finger inwards onto his palm, before slowly pulling his arm down. That done, he stared deeply into the girl's eyes, before saying, almost prophetically-"The Shinigami's era is drawing to a close."

* * *

><p><strong>Just the intro chapter, it's the anime scene copied and pasted literally, but I digress. As usual, names aren't given to charecters unless their identified in speech, that's just how I roll, sorry XP.<strong>

**Also, i'm probably not going to write for a while, I need a few weeks to sort life out, I know I didn't write over christmas, but bear with me please! The next few chapters are just copied and pasted from my other story, so don't be surprised, i'm afraid theres nothing really new as of yet.**


	2. Chapter 2

_Ichigo…_

_Ichigo…_

_Can you hear it, Ichigo?_

With the rough sound of his zanpakutou's voice filling his ears, Ichigo woke up groggily from his sleep. His first reaction was surprise. Raising his torso up from what had previously been his bed, and now was a solid pane of glass underneath his hands, Ichigo cast his eyes about him. "This…is my…"-Ichigo murmured to himself, surprised at what his eyes were revealing before him. Without a doubt, this was his inner world, blue skyscrapers reaching high towards the blue sky all about him as he lay upon the surprisingly horizontal wall of a skyscraper beneath him. Nearby, he heard footfalls as the familiar form of Zangetsu walked along the wall of the skyscraper towards his prone body.

_Can you hear it, Ichigo?_

The repeated question confused Ichigo. He knew that in the past, when he first gained his shinigami powers, that he was unable to hear Zangetsu's voice, but why was it that Zangetsu was now concerned about what he could hear? Unsure if this was the answer that his zanpakutou wanted, Ichigo replied-"What do you mean? I can hear your voice-"

_Not my voice._

Ichigo was surprised at the reply; after all, he had only heard Zangetsu's voice, that was what awoke him. Just in case, he turned his head in each direction, focusing as he tried to hear any other noise around his inner world. However, only silence greeted him, interrupted by the soft rippling noise from the ever present, almost breeze effect that flowed through Zangetsu's clothing, despite the fact that there was no wind in his inner world. Still confused, Ichigo simply replied-"I can't really hear anything else…"

Zangestu didn't reply after that, simply watching Ichigo with his complacent gaze. However, Ichigo got the feeling that his ever taciturn zanpakutou was perhaps uneasy about something, although what, he had no idea. Concerned slightly, he asked-"What exactly are you on about?"

_…Then all is well…_

"No it's not!"-Ichigo replied annoyed, knowing that whatever was wrong, Zangetsu was deliberately hiding it from him. However, with no attempt at explaining forthcoming, Ichigo said-"Oi, Old man!" hoping to once again get his zanpakutou to explain. However, Zangetsu remained silent, refusing to share whatever was worrying him with his Aruji.

(Squad 6 barracks)

"Howl, Zabimaru!"-Renji shouted out loudly, swinging his released blade out from him, the blade scything through the air as it sought out its target. However, Byakuya calmly stood his ground, easily blocking the Shikai with his own sealed sword without moving an inch, easily maintaining his grip on his blade as the prongs along the Shikai's whip length threatened to tear the blade out of his grip. With a quick shunpo step, the Captain suddenly vanished, surprising Renji as he reappeared in mid-air, blade ready to cut him down. Renji was barely able to bring his blade back from its extended form before Byakuya swung his blade at him. Renji just about managed to block the blade, before executing his own counter strike, shouting-"Take that!" in exhilaration. Byakuya was quickly forced onto the defensive from Renji's more aggressive strikes as he grinned, bearing down with all of his might on his blade, trying to force the Captain away with brute strength.

Rather than struggle against his foe's blade, Byakuya let the force of the swing push him back to instead gain an opening to release his own shikai, calmly intoning-"Scatter, Senbonzakura." Renji quickly realised his mistake at giving Byakuya a chance to open up the distance between him as his eyes widened, watching Byakuya's blade split into hundreds of miniscule pink blades, looking alike its namesake as petals. Gritting his teeth, Renji quickly brought his sword back into a guard pose as the tiny blades homed in on him, aiming not for his body, but deliberately for his sword.

Below, the assembled Squad 6 shinigami gasped in amazement as they watched the Captain start to overwhelm the Vice Captain, Renji flying away in midair as Senbonzakura's petals easily force back Zabimaru's edge. However, even though Renji was being forced back, Zabimaru's blade glowed anew with a red glow. Smirking once more, Renji bellowed out-"Bankai!"

Suddenly, Renji was seemingly covered in an explosion of reiatsu, a massive cloud of smoke hiding him from view as Byakuya brought Senbonzakura back in preparation for the next phase in the battle. Amongst the crowd, even the spectating 8th Squad Captain, Kyoraku, seemed slightly surprised at the summoning of a Bankai in a simple match. As the smoke cleared, a massive snake of bone roared in the sky as Renji landed below, the handle of the enormous Bankai at the ready as he declared-"Hihio Zabimaru!"

However, even as the crowd now cheered for the Vice captain, Byakuya was entirely unfazed, his wrist turning as he pointed his now reformed blade downwards, before releasing his grip. As the zanpakutou tip touched the floor, it sunk straight through with a ripple effect, before numerous huge blade sprung up all about Byakuya. "I had not forgotten about your Bankai, but, by using my hands with Senbonzakura Kageyoshi, I can double its speed, your Bankai cannot possibly block mine with that slow speed." (1)-Byakuya impassively explained, as the huge blades all about him broke apart in turn, releasing millions of miniscule blades. Summoning the blades all about him to the ready with a flick of his wrist, Byakuya simply said-"Here I come"

_**Hear my voice!**_

Without warning, Byakuya lost control of one of the many million blades that he had summoned, that singular blade flying almost erratically and slashing into his own arm. Byakuya's eyes widened in shock as he noticed the cut on his arm, the idea of losing control of his Bankai completely alien to him since he had mastered it so long ago, it could almost be considered impossible. Noticing the slip up of concentration, Renji took the opening, shouting as he swung his Bankai to the ready.

With no time to contemplate what just happened, Byakuya instead concentrated on the battle, bringing his Bankai back under control and sending it forward with a lunging motion to attack. Like he thought, Renji wasn't ready for the speed of his directly controlled Bankai and was forced to jump up to escape. Byakuya quickly swung his arm upward, directing his Bankai to give chase. Realising there was no way he could escape it, Renji brought his Bankai around him, layer after layer of bone wrapping about him in a sphere as it blocked Byakuya's attack.

However, even trapped within the sphere, Renji wasn't about to give up, with a defiant shout, he summoned all of his reiatsu as he shouted-"Hikotsu Taihou!" His Bankai, now reinforced with all of his reiatsu, broke through Byakuya's attack as the super charged reiatsu flew throughout its connecting segments. With an almighty roar, the Bankai unleashed it's attack, a huge blast of red reiatsu flying at incredible speed towards Byakuya. However, Byakuya merely raised his arm upwards once more, summoning a seeming wall of giant blades before him to shield him from the blast.

As the blast impacted upon the wall, the shockwaves caused several spectating shinigami to fall over, even the stronger ones had to brace for the impact of the shockwaves. As the dust once again settled, Renji landed nearby, ready to continue the battle. However, after several seconds, Byakuya still didn't move to defend himself or continue the battle, indicating that the fight was over. Smirking, Renji stood tall as he watched his Captain, noting-"You used your Bankai!"

However, Byakuya didn't respond, just resealing his sword before staring intently at the blade held before him. Surprised, Renji walked over to him, a concerned expression now on his features as he asked-"Taichou, is there something wrong?" Byakuya seemed to pause for a moment, before simply replying-"No."

(Squad 11 barracks)

The grounds practically shook from the calamitous impact of blade on blade, each blow strong enough to destroy the barracks the two duelled within with ease. To say this was a duel was perhaps the wrong word, this was closer to a restrained battle to the death, the reiatsu emerging from one of the two Captains present radiating bloodlust and killing intent in such waves even some of the Squad 11 members who watched feared for their lives as they watched wide eyed at the battle between the two men before them. To think this was their Captain when he wasn't purely focused on killing the target was outrageous, for this was not meant to be a battle to the death, but a sparring match between the two.

However, what was more amazing was how Zaraki's foe was withstanding the waves of reiatsu and still countering with equal strength to each blow Zaraki gave, without even releasing a Shikai to keep up. As once again the two combatants broke apart, the distance opening up between the two as Zaraki's feet dug trenches straight through the solid stone beneath him, his opponent back flipping in the opposite direction, spinning in mid-air as he recovered from the backlash of their last ferocious blow. With practised ease, the Captain corrected his fall, landing softly on the ground at the opposite edge of the open courtyard of the 11th Squad.

Opposite him, Kenpachi was giving a ferocious laugh, his head tilted back to the sky as he bellowed out, lost in the ecstasy of battle. He was slightly pissed that he had yet to score a blow on the enemy before him, but the battle was more than worth it, his foe matching blow for blow with equal, if not at times superior force. Neither Captain had yet to take a wound, despite Zaraki giving his all to smash through his opponent's guard, his foe stopping every blow with pure force as well. This was no practiced battle, where each combatant used all of his skill to overwhelm the other. This was a brawl, a battle where both strived to overpower the other with sheer brute force, and Kenpachi loved every moment of it.

Opposite Kenpachi, his opponent breathed out slowly as he corrected his stance, preparing for the next clash. Just as he had expected, Kenpachi was making this a gruelling battle, by keeping back everything but brute strength in their battle, Yoshirou was hard pressed to keep up with the almost monster like power of his foe.** And to think, his attacks just keep getting more powerful with each time we clash, I'm starting to wonder whether I'll need to release some more of my power to match** Yoshirou pondered, mentally counting the number of arm bands that still adorned his arm.

In order to make this battle worth his while as practice, Yoshirou had gauged that in order to keep up with Kenpachi in terms of reiatsu with Kenpachi using his seal and Yoshirou keeping his own sword sealed to match, he would need about 40% of his reiatsu released, as such three bands still wrapped about his arm, sealing effectively 60% of his total reiatsu.

While if he had been battling with all of his techniques and his Shikai, 40% would have easily overwhelmed Kenpachi's sealed strength by this point, he was using this battle to practice his Zanjustu alone on an equal strength foe. Since his training with Yamamoto, he didn't think any Captain could easily match him in terms of pure brute strength any more despite the Sou Taichou himself, but memories of the devastation that Zaraki had brought about during the Ryoka Invasion had peaked his curiosity.

Out of all the Captains of Soul Society, it was easy to say in terms of brute might, Zaraki Kenpachi was in a league of his own, not even Komamura could possibly match Kenpachi's overbearing reiatsu with a sealed sword. Thanks to the ridiculous training he had gone through under Yamamoto's tutelage, Yoshirou's reiatsu had also grown to new heights, his bands no longer able to effectively hide his presence, as even sealed the power he put out could easily shame a Vice Captain. However, in order to practice his Zanjustu, he would need a foe who could also put out the same kind of power, and he had gotten sick of the rather one sided battles he always had against Yamamoto when he didn't use his Bankai in training.

**That old monster, to think even with Bankai I'm only just a match for his Shikai almost sounds ridiculous** Yoshirou thought, a wry smile on his face as he remembered the numerous beatings he had already suffered at the old mans hands. Across the way, Zaraki finished his roaring laughter, his breath spent. However, his attention didn't return to Yoshirou surprisingly, instead taking his sword and seemingly cutting the air, almost as if testing his muscles.

With one sharp movement, Kenpachi drew the blade back, a move to test the strength of his draw, but the result was amazing, the ground seemingly splitting along the path of his blade, crumpling beneath his feet from the shock of the movement throughout his body transmitted to the floor. This drew a collective gasp of amazement from the audience, even the spectating fifth seat, Yumichika, drew an eyebrow up in surprise, murmuring in half surprise-"Splitting the ground with that motion? Is that even possible?" Beside him, his partner in crime Ikkaku, simply barked out with laughter, before shouting out-"That's our Taichou for ya! Go Taichou!" Soon enough, the cheer erupted into roars of support from the burly misfit gang that represented Squad 11's finest, shouting the support for their Captain.

Yoshirou just sighed slightly at the ridiculous show of power. He knew the rumours of the mighty 11th Division Captains strength, but to see it in action before him was another thing. **There's no doubt, it sounds impossible, but his strength is actually increasing the more we fight, he's not tiring, he's getting more and more stronger** Yoshirou concluded as Kenpachi turned his head to face him, a fierce smile spread across his features. "Man, it's been a long time since I fought anyone with enough power to easily match my blows!"-Kenpachi said over to his foe, swinging his long serrated blade up onto his shoulder, his maniacal grin not slipping once. "Well, glad we've managed to get past the warm up, now…" Kenpachi raised his hand up in Yoshirou's direction, beckoning with his finger as if taunting. "Let's go another round!"

"Your serious? That's your power without even being warmed up?"-Yoshirou asked incredulously, shaking his head almost in disbelief. Kenpachi didn't bother to reply, he just simply swung his sword down from his shoulder. A loud crack announced the stone underneath his feet being shattered, the force of his swing going through the air and into the ground below, as if just to confirm to Yoshirou's eyes just what he meant. Yoshirou only breathed out slowly as he focused once more on his opponent. Kenpachi just grinned, before beckoning once again for Yoshirou to attack. Unbidden by his own will, Yoshirou's lip tugged up at the corner in a smirk of defiance as he tensed his legs, crouching low as he prepared to leap forward, straight for the foe before him.

_**Hear my voice!**_

Yoshirou froze instantly, his eyes widening in surprise as he lost his focus on the battle, the voice ringing through his thoughts. **What was that?** Yoshirou asked inside his own mind, lifting one hand to touch his temple lightly as he tried to focus on what he had just heard. There was no doubt that whatever that voice was, it was within his own head, but he had never heard that voice before, of that he was sure.

**Taiyou, was that Tengoku? I thought he was dormant, did he call out?** Yoshirou questioned once more, although he had only met the former Light Zanpakutou once, he was pretty sure that the voices didn't match. However, he didn't get the chance to hear any kind of reply from his sword, instead a jingle of bells floating behind him as a rough voice scarily close roared-"Get back in the fight, boy!"

Yoshirou barely had time to react, swinging his sword up and over his shoulder into guard as a meteoric blow struck for his body, instantly ramming his sword down to press painfully against his shoulder as he blocked the killing strike from the 11th division Captain. Cursing quietly under his breath, Yoshirou put a second hand to the blade handle, forcing the weight upwards as he pivoted, the blade passing overhead before he twisted his zanpakutou's direction, metallic screeches sounding out as blade grated against blade, Kenpachi's sword forced down along with Yoshirou's own as he directed the force away and to the ground, both blade tips hitting the ground with more than enough force to split the tiles below their feet, both men breaking away from one another as the ground below them cracked and shattered, chips of stone flying through the air to cut trails through both men's clothing.

Neither noticed this as they respectively drew their blades in, even as they jumped apart. As soon as the tips of their sandels hit the floor, both Kenpachi and Yoshirou kicked off with almighty impacts on the floor, rising skywards instead, Kenpachi roaring out his battle cry as his sword swept through the air, both hands gripped tightly upon the blade, cutting down with a screeching cry as Yoshirou swept his blade upwards with all his might to counter. Once again, blade met upon blade, the sheer impact creating a wall of pressure that whipped the wind into a frenzy, both men's reiatsu exploding outwards in respective force, yellow against gold as Captain clashed against Captain, zanpakutou battling for supremacy with nothing but pure power.

Below them, even though the majority of the squad had been knocked flying by the impact of the wind, the 11th squad lackeys roared with almost bloodlust at the titanic clash between Captains. However, one figure remained silent as he watched, unnoticed by any there, even to Yoshirou's supreme sensing capability, the man watching silently the progress of both his students, wizened frame resting slightly on the cane that represented his sealed blade. However, his eyebrows had furrowed slightly, moments before the battle had recommenced, he had seen the sudden halt of Yoshirou's movements, although why he had hesitated was what had concerned the man.

Even if he faced the 11th Division Captain, he knew a pupil of his would not be fazed by the wild reiatsu of Zaraki Kenpachi, after all, Yoshirou had time and time again been almost bathed within the almighty power of Ryujjin Jakka, and not once hesitated. However, something had caused him to stop, and what it was, he didn't know. Even now, something within Yoshirou was distracted, enough that even with the considerable training he had gone through, it was now Yoshirou who plummeted to the earth, the Kendo that Yamamoto had almost beaten into Kenpachi overwhelming him with it's pure force, Yoshirou barely holding his blade in place as he flew backwards, Kenpachi following with a bloodthirsty shout, not giving him a moment to recover, Kenpachi already lost within his battle lust.

"It would seem he still needs more training."-the wizened old man murmured under his breath, turning his back to the battle even as blade met blade once more in a cataclysmic showdown. Without looking back, the old man seemingly vanished.

**Crap!** Yoshirou thought mentally as he impacted with the ground, the damaged tiles now totally annihilated as the earth was torn below him, instantly sinking within a deep crater as he coughed out instinctively, the air belted out from his body from the force of impact. He hadn't expected that there would have been such a difference if Kenpachi grasped his blade with both hands, already distracted by what had happened before, he didn't notice the huge increment of force in Kenpachi's blade until it had actually impacted with his own, even though he poured out all of his unrestrained reiatsu, he had barely been able to stop Kenpachi's blade from cutting straight into him, his arms sore, feeling as though merely the effort of holding his blade in place against that attack had torn his muscles from his bones. Even as he had tried to recover, Kenpachi had attacked again, smashing him downwards with the second meteoric impact and straight into the ground.

"What the, is that all?"-Kenpachi suddenly announced from nearby, his figure descending through the cloud of debris that had blocked Yoshirou from his view after he impacted with the ground. Yoshirou grimaced slightly as the dust parted, revealing the intimidating Captain for him to see clearly, his blade hold loosely to his side as he landed nearby the crater, eyebrow raised almost cynically as he regarded Yoshirou stuck in the dirt. Yoshirou growled slightly in annoyance, flexing one shoulder to break his sword arm free of the stone, before taking a deep breath.

Kenpachi waited with a surprising silence as the dust finally parted completely, revealing to the onlookers the scene of him lying in the crater with their captain standing over him. Even as the roar of approval started up once again, Kenpachi ignored them, instead waiting, a grin slowly spreading across his face as he anticipated the answer to his challenge. Yoshirou didn't disappoint, turning his face to regard Kenpachi with a grin of his own, asking-"What do you think?"

Kenpachi threw back his head, roaring out with laughter once again, surprising the onlookers into silence, having believed the battle was already won. "I think you're still game for a few rounds yet!"-Kenpachi replied as he brought his head back to level with Yoshirou, or more where Yoshirou had been trapped in the dirt, now only an explosion of flying stone as Yoshirou flew out of the hole at breakneck speed, blade lowered to strike upwards at the Captains body, Kenpachi roaring with approval as his sword descended to clash with Yoshirou once more.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, that's a wrap. Sorry if it seems a bit inadequete, perhaps even random to do a Yoshirou vs Kenpachi bout, but i'll go into more depth of it in the next chapter. The reason why i've done it is because Kenpachi was practically invisible for a long time in the anime arc, due to Muramasa obviously not summoning him at the very start since he has no Zanpakutou, he would only give the shinigami an advantage to be at Soukyoku at the start, as such I want to do a little start piece between him and Yoshirou. Also, I delibrately needed a battle to be here since Yoshirou has such an insane connection to his zanpakutou, things would be a bit odd if he was affected and not distracted, as thus I put it that he was unable to figure it out because he was otherwise occupied when he heard Muramasa's voice (hope that doesn't confuse people, yes Yoshirou could hear Muramasa, no he won't fall under his influence, he only heard it due to how he is always mentally connected to his zanpakutou's thoughts)<strong>

**Anyhow, that's all for now, see ya all next chapter! As always, please rate and review, any questions and i'm more than willing to answer them!**

**(1) Yeah, I know, he didn't really say that in the anime, but I felt that what he said in the anime did not sound as right, the translation was "I hadn't forgotten about that. But I can double Senbonzakura's speed by controlling it directly with my hands. Your slow Bankai won't be able to block it."**


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, this was pretty quick, so sorry if there's mistakes. Also, I kinda made Kenpachi a bit OOC for this chapter, reason being that I wanted to try and split Yoshirou and Kenpachi temporarily from contact with everyone, and also wanted a reason for Yoshirou to continue to not suspect something was wrong with his zanpakutou, as such I had to make a particular scenario for it to work, it may sound out of place, but I did my best XP**

**Anyhow, read on!**

* * *

><p>The walls of the mess hall practically vibrated from the loud raucous shouts of a multitude of drunk men bawling bawdy tunes as they ate. The hall was filled with good cheer after the events of that afternoon, after all it was rare that the battle loving men of this squad got to see their Captain truly let loose in battle, and it had been a magnificent spectacle. No one's mind was on the fact that half of the wide courtyard within the 11th division's grounds had been reduced to rubble during the battle, the work undoubtedly going to be left to the poor 4th Squad members who would have to take the unenviable duty of repairing the godly damage within their grounds due to the high unlikeness that the 11th Division men would bother.<p>

Instead, spirits were high as ugly man after ugly man downed massive pitchers of spirits, not one care in the world as to the blinding storm of hangovers hanging on the horizon. Only a few men there had the presence not to drink themselves to stupidity, namely the higher echelon of the seated squad members, Yumichika merely sipping from a small bowl of sake as he sat beside his partner Ikkaku, who was instead gorging himself on a massive rack of ribs, one of many plates (strangely enough, all of meat) that adorned the tables. Nearby, Kenpachi sat surprisingly still, not taken in by the atmosphere of the drunks, looking bored now that he no longer had his sword in hand and an enemy to fight, causing the guest of honour, placed beside the massive Captain to feel slightly nervous that perhaps he was about to get another challenge just to break the giant's boredom.

**Why on earth didn't I just excuse myself after the fight?** Yoshirou was wondering for perhaps the fiftieth that time already that hour, regretting taking the Captain's invitation following their fight as he once again tried to plug his ears from all the noise that filled the mess hall. Not only did the entire squad act a mess at meal times, but it seemed as if they ate nothing but meat, just about every kind of animal imaginable had been cooked in a condition that was best surmised as ranging from burnt, to badly burnt. That and it seemed water was a non-existent commodity amongst these men, nothing but pitcher after pitcher of alcohol was available to have, and he already knew from just looking at the pitcher that was closest that this stuff was the kind of raw spirits that would probably burn the almighty hell out of any bodies throat who wasn't used to drinking them.

**Trust a squad filled with only men to be able to put up with meals like this…** Yoshirou thought to himself, just one glance about the hall and he could already tell that they might as well be at a tavern than a squad hall for the mess the men were making of themselves. Having already lost his appetite at the sight of the men gorging themselves messily on meat and alcohol, Yoshirou was only able to sit silently, hoping that the man beside him didn't get any ideas about dragging him outside for another fight. His muscles still ached from the battle, even if he had been unwounded, the battle had dragged on for hours, Kenpachi seemingly having absolutely limitless stamina alongside his ridiculous reiatsu, he was starting to see exactly why Kurosaki ran for it every time Kenpachi homed in on him, now that he had actually fought him, he could see that Kenpachi indeed deserved his title of a monster.

"Oi, you just going to sit there all night or what?"-a gruff voice suddenly shocked him from his thoughts. Yoshirou jumped with surprise as he realised he was being regarded out of the corner of one of the giants eyes, staring down at him from his much taller stature. Yoshirou laughed weakly, replying-"Oh, I'm just not feeling all that hungry." Kenpachi merely grunted in reply, before saying-"I get ya, that little scrap wasn't tiring in the slightest, I need some more exercise before I feel hungry myself." **Uh oh…** Yoshirou thought, having a pretty decent idea about what Kenpachi was getting at. However, they were both interrupted by a loud child like laugh, Yoshirou suddenly realising he felt a light pressure on the top of his head. Rolling his eyes, he realised that once again, the little 11th Squad Vice Captain held no regard on what she stepped on to get around.

Just as he thought, balancing neatly on the top of his head was the said Vice Captain, beaming happily as she realised that by making use of Yoshirou's rather tall height, she could actually look down at Kenpachi instead of looking up, this discovery being the source of her laughter. "Hiya Yoshi-kun!"-Yachiru announced happily, kneeling now atop his head as she bent over, now entering Yoshirou's vision upside down with a huge beaming smile on her face. Yoshirou wasn't sure whether to feel annoyed that his head was being used as a standing post, or glad that Yachiru's timely arrival had perhaps interrupted Kenpachi from dragging him outside for a rematch.

"Hi to you as well Yachiru, now do you feel like perhaps getting off of my head?"-Yoshirou asked back. It wasn't that her weight was causing his neck problems, he could barely feel the weight of the girl, it was more that trying to talk to someone who was hanging upside down in his vision was rather confusing. Yachiru's smile fell, instead replying-"Aww, but it's nice up here, I can see everybody and Ken-chan from here!" Luckily, Yoshirou already knew of a way to resolve this situation, a trick that he had recently learnt from Byakuya that he had made use of to silence the excitable girl (1).

Reaching into his robes, hoping to god it hadn't been crushed in the fight with Kenpachi, he managed to find the small packet that he had bought from one of the stalls in the Seijōtōkyorin for exactly this purpose. **Thank god they are still alright…**Yoshirou thought with relief as he opened the packet, producing what had been hiding inside. Instantly the girl's vision homed into what was in his hand, eyes widening excitedly at what she saw.

Yoshirou barely got the chance to open his mouth, to try and offer the item in exchange for her getting off his head, before he realised not only was the weight off his head, but the item in his right hand, and the bag that was filled with the rest of them in his left hand had also vanished, Yachiru announcing her cry of victory as she reappeared atop Kenpachi's shoulders, the criminal holding both items she had managed to grab without him even noticing. Kenpachi's eyes moved up to regard his Vice Captain as she instantly stuffed the first manju in her mouth with a satisfied smile, saying-"Oi Yachiru, don't go stealing his stuff without permission."

Yachiru somehow swallowed the entire manju whole despite her rather small face, before defensively crying-"But Ken-chan, Yoshi-kun was going to give them to me anyway!" Yoshirou was still rather surprised that the diminutive Vice Captain had managed all of that without him barely noticing her movements, but he recovered quickly, laughing slightly as he told Kenpachi-"It's alright, I brought them for her anyway." Kenpachi just grunted in reply as Yachiru finished swallowing her already second manju, before happily saying-"Thankie, Yoshi-kun!"

However, Kenpachi surprised both of them, suddenly rising from the table they were sat at, causing Yachiru to grab his shoulder for support, desperately trying to keep her hands on the goodies she had won from Yoshirou. "Hey Taichou, where you off ta?"-Ikkaku called from nearby, noticing the hard to miss movement from the huge man. "Going outside."- was the short reply that Kenpachi gave, before looking back, fixing his stare on Yoshirou, adding-"You comin?"

Surprised, and suspicious, Yoshirou was half tempted to say no, but he had also had his fill of the drunk atmosphere that hung around the mess hall, even a second fight with the Captain seemed preferable to hanging around here much longer, so he shrugged his shoulders in defeat, rising himself in turn as he replied-"Sure, why not."

* * *

><p>(P.O.V change)<p>

Yoshirou was surprised, not only had Kenpachi not attacked him the moment they stepped outside, nor at any time while they walked or before they had sat down on the veranda of the 11th Division training hall, but now, he had just asked him the one question he had never expected he would ever hear from the man known as the berserker of the Gotei 13.

"How do ya deal with your Zanpakutou?"

"What?"-Yoshirou asked back in surprise, watching the giant for his reply while Yachiru was chasing an insect she had found for fun. Kenpachi seemed to growl with annoyance at the question, before replying-"I said, how do ya deal with it?" Yoshirou shook his head in exasperation. "And I'm still asking, what are you trying to ask? Deal with your zanpakutou? That's about as vague as it gets, how on earth could I answer that without knowing what you mean?"

As if in response to this, Kenpachi moved, slowly drawing his zanpakutou, before holding it before him, the blade glinting in the moonlight. Now Yoshirou could get a good look at the blade, he could tell something was wrong with the blade. Although he doubted from Kenpachi's question that he could hear it, Yoshirou could hear it. The blade was keening, ever so quietly, yet the noise was full of discord, no blade, even an asauchi, would ring like that, it was a call of a sword that was completely at odds with the one who wielded it.

The noise, although infinitesimally quiet, hurt his ears like a howling screech. Yoshirou drew a slow breath as he tried to block out the noise. He was surprised that any blade could sound like that, it had been a long time since he had heard anything alike it, it was the same sound that he had heard when he first tried to contact his own zanpakutou within his own soul, that screech had rung throughout his own soul as well when he had first met the Light Zanpakutou, moments before his blade had almost exploded in his own hands from whatever force had caused it.

**What do you think, Taiyou?** Yoshirou asked internally. As far as he could see, Kenpachi's sword was in the same state, but perhaps the ratio of Kenpachi's ridiculous power kept his sword from reacting the same way his had. **Taiyou?** Yoshirou asked again, surprised that she hadn't replied straight away. However, no voice replied inside his own mind.

Yoshirou guessed that he was right then, this noise was the same, enough that Taiyou didn't want to answer. Rather than continue trying to ask his zanpakutou more, he decided to not push for a reply, instead bringing his attention back to Kenpachi instead. Yoshirou was a bit hesitant before he said his next words, unsure as to how Kenpachi would reply, but he asked-"What is your Zanpakutou to you?"

"A tool."-Kenpachi instantly replied. Silence seemed to stretch between the two as Kenpachi stared down at his own blade in silence, before continuing-"At least, that's what I used to think. Now I don't know what it is, that's why I'm askin ya." Yoshirou sighed, more in relief than anything after hearing Kenpachi's answer. He had expected the reply of a tool, but he was glad to know that Kenpachi was perhaps thinking more on it than just that.

"Have you ever heard a voice in your dreams, Kenpachi?"-Yoshirou asked. "Huh?"-Kenpachi growled back, raising an eyebrow as if asking was he mocking him. Yoshirou quickly raised his hands in defense, defending himself by saying-"Your Zanpakutou has a soul of its own, and it tries it's best to contact you, but at first, you have no hope of hearing it, the best time that your most reticent to hear the call is when you either dream, or if you are unconscious. For most shinigami, they can hear whispers of words in visions and dreams, that's the first sign that a person may be starting to hear contact from their zanpakutou. Most likely, it won't even be distinct enough to call words at first, but perhaps even you have heard a whisper maybe?"

Kenpachi's stare returned once more to his sword, before casually replying-"Nah, my dreams are only ever filled with battle, killing and death, I have never heard another noise other than the shouts of battle cries, the ringing of metal or the screams of the dying." Yoshirou's eyes opened widely in shock, what Kenpachi was casually describing as his dreams sounded like the stuff of nightmares. **I guess that's the difference between one who lives for battle and the rest of the world** Yoshirou summarised, but couldn't help gulping nervously at the thought.

"So, you're not even near to hearing your zanpakutou's thoughts then…"-Yoshirou said quietly, trying to dispel the grim images Kenpachi's words had caused in his mind. Kenpachi just grunted in reply, before moving to sheath his sword once again, muttering-"It's probably never gonna try talkin, even if that's what it can do." **It?** Yoshirou wondered, before realising something. "Wait, Kenpachi."-Yoshirou suddenly said. Kenpachi turned his head slightly to look at him, pausing in the motion of sheathing his sword.

"You said *It*. You called your zanpakutou *It*, why?"-Yoshirou asked. Kenpachi paused for a second, before suddenly redrawing his blade once more, answering-"Isn't that what it is? It's a sword, a weapon, ain't it?" Yoshirou shook his head in reply, answering-"That's a common mistake for unseated shinigami, to conceptualise your zanpakutou as nothing but a weapon, even if you acknowledge it has a soul, as long as you primarily see it as a weapon, it's going to make it harder."

"Hah?"-Kenpachi said, not understanding what Yoshirou was getting at. In reply, Yoshirou drew his own blade, placing it across his knees as well. "Would you be surprised if I said my Zanpakutou is a *she*? To me, Taiyoukousen is not *It*, she is *She*."-Yoshirou tried to explain. Kenpachi raised an eyebrow again, asking-"Do ya mean like how ya might say a vessel is *she*? How does that change anythin? Would that make any difference if I called my sword *she*? I think that sounds like bullshit."

Yoshirou was surprised at the reply, he had expected confusion, but Kenpachi had come up with an answer he hadn't expected. "No, it's not the same thing, Taiyoukousen has a soul, a form, even if you see a sword, I see my partner before me, it's more than simply giving it a title on emotion, Taiyoukousen is *she*, she speaks to me, has a will of her own, her own understanding of the world about me. Taiyoukousen is not my *weapon*, she is my *partner*. It would be the same as if you called Yachiru *it*, you can't, Yachiru is *she*, so how is it any different to your zanpakutou?"

Kenpachi regarded him in silence for a whole minute, almost judging the worth of his words. Yoshirou wasn't sure if the Captain still thought he was mocking him or being serious any more. However, after the minute, he concentrated back on his blade, holding it up to the moonlight once more as he peered at his reflection on the flat of the battered, damaged blade edge. "*Partner*, huh?"-Kenpachi muttered as he looked at the sword. Yoshirou was surprised at the result of Kenpachi merely saying these words.

Although he doubted highly Kenpachi could tell, the eerie keen of discord that his blade had been emitting died down fractionally. It still sounded awful and painful to hear, but the magnitude had gone down slightly, as if Kenpachi's conscious thought of perhaps taking his blade to be a partner rather than a weapon seriously had caused a monumental change in the balance of the blade. It could have been just his eyes, but Yoshirou thought the reflection that he could see of Kenpachi's face upon the blade edge was slightly brighter than it had been moments before.

"So, you're my partner instead huh? Still hard to think of it that way, but I can give it a shot I guess."-Kenpachi muttered as he moved to sheath the sword. Nearby, Yachiru watched the two silently, having abandoned her interest earlier to watch the interaction between the two captains. As Kenpachi finished sheathing the blade, he suddenly laid back, staring up at the moon instead. "Oi Yoshirou, when's the next battle gonna be then? I'm gonna see how much of a difference this is gonna have now."-Kenpachi muttered as he looked skyward. Yoshirou laughed, replying-"Hell if I know, hopefully not for a while in my liking, I wouldn't mind getting some rest for once in a while."

Kenpachi just grinned wolfishly, replying-"Ya know, heard a saying once, Karma's a bitch, now you've said that, there's gonna be a battle for sure, I can taste it in the air." Yoshirou just laughed nervously, joining the Captain in lying back, looking skyward as he said-"Ah damn it, I hope I haven't jinxed things now." Kenpachi laughed loudly in reply, both men not noticing the cloud of hell butterflies that flew past the opposite side of the training hall, a sign of change that was coming rapidly.

* * *

><p><strong>Anyhow, that's a wrap! Really short chapter compared to normal, less than 3000 words 0.0. Still, it's because i'm probably not going to update for quite a while, lots of deadlines coming up for the first semester so I will be kept busy. Sorry once again if Kenpachi seems OOC, but I wanted to bridge an important gap in the series, at what point did Kenpachi start referring to his zanpakutou as *he*? As such, i figured adding it into the Z Tales arc would be pretty fun, also explains why Kenpachi suddenly seemed beastly powerful in this arc compared to before, if I add a bit to do with him starting to work on his zanpakutou, it might add more fun to it XP.<strong>

**Anyhow, seeya all whenever I manage to get the tiem to update next! As always, reviews and critical analysis are welcomed! Any questions and i will do my best to answer!**

**(1) Dunno which one, but watch the Shinigami Diary endings, in the one where he has to stand in for Rukia in a meeting, he was accosted by Yachiru, but he defeated the girl in an instant with this method.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey all, only a quick Chapter this time, kinda low on idea's, but since I was putting out work for the Naruto story, I figured I should do my best to put out one for the Bleach story too, hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

><p>"Haa, what a blast!"-Ikkaku exclaimed loudly as he sat upon the steps outside the mess hall of the 11th Division, casually swinging a large jar up to his lips as he drunk the raw spirits inside. Behind him, his partner sighed as he leaned against the door frame, chuckling quietly as he replied-"Indeed, today has been rather interesting to say the least." As he finished another slug of alcohol, Ikkaku leaned back in content, a loud belch exclaiming his appreciation of his drink, before laughing, saying-"Damn right it was, I mean who in their right mind waltzes right into our division and challenges our Captain right in his face? I swear, it's been easily been a century since anybody was brazen enough to do that and live!"<p>

Yumichika nodded in return to his friends words, raising his eyes to the sky as he regarded the pale moon, a slight smile on his lips as he remembered the event. "I have to say, it's been a long time since I've seen Zaraki-Taichou so happy, he even invited Kenshin-Taichou to join us for the afternoon, I don't think I've ever seen him do that with anybody."-Yumichika murmured quietly, earning another loud laugh from his bald headed companion, Ikkaku shouting out-"Of course he would be, I don't think I've ever seen anyone fight Zaraki-Taichou on even grounds like that!"

Yumichika just sighed in the face of his partner drunken exuberance, running a hand through his sleek hair, but not able to keep the smile from his lips. A thought suddenly sprung back to his mind as he looked down at Ikkaku, asking-"So are you still planning to have that rematch with Kenshin-Taichou?" Ikkaku continued bellowing out his laughter, taking another swig of alcohol for good measures as he replied-"Damn straight! After seeing that fight I'm even more pumped up to fight him, course he's probably going to beat my ass seven different shades of black, but no way in hell am I taking back that challenge!"

Yumichika could only shake his head in mock despair at his partner's gung ho reply, but he knew that nothing in this world or the next would stop him from being there to watch that rematch between the 3rd seat and the former 3rd seat-turn-Captain. However, Ikkaku turned sullen suddenly, grumbling-"Damn that Aizen-teme for getting in the way though, our rematch is on hold until that bastard is dealt with! Seriously, most fun I'm possibly going to have for the next century and that asshole messes it up for me, hope he burns in hell!"

"Now now, Ikkaku, just think about it this way."-Yumichika placated his comrade. "Because of his betrayal, Kenshin-Taichou stepped up his training, and has been getting stronger and stronger at a phenomenal rate, you could tell couldn't you? He's worlds apart from how he was when you two sparred in the dojo a few months ago, now are you saying you would have been satisfied with just fighting the 3rd Seat Yoshirou's powers if you knew his potential to be stronger with a little *inspiration* was this much?"

Ikkaku paused for a moment, letting the thoughts penetrate his drunken thoughts, before grinning widely in turn, turning back to look at his partner with a huge drunken smile plastered across his face, replying-"Ya know what, your damn right! Guess that bastard was good for something after all then!" Turning back to the night sky, Ikkaku raised his jar to drink one more, before exclaiming with dismay as only a drip or two flowed out. With a quick movement, he dashed the jar against the ground, leaving a pile of broken clay before rising. After a quick stretch, he loudly shouted out-"Yosh, c'mon Yumichika let's get some more drink! I'm not gonna stop tonight until I hit the deck face first!"

Yumichika just smiled knowingly as he pushed himself away from the door frame he had been leaning on. However, as Ikkaku started back towards the mess hall and Yumichika was about to turn into the doorway, he noticed something fluttering nearby, coming down from the darkness with a small trail of reishi floating brightly behind it, a tiny bell like chime coming to Yumichika's hearing. It seemed he wasn't the only one who heard the chime, as a second butterfly floated alongside the first, Ikkaku turned back to the courtyard as well, snapping out of his drunken stupor as he was instantly serious.

* * *

><p>(P.O.V change)<p>

Yoshirou watched with surprise as he saw a hell butterfly approach from the distance, his eyes easily picking it out even through the darkness due to his trait of seeing perfectly in any situation. Beside him, Kenpachi seemed to hear his movement, turning his solitary eye to look at the Captain, before following his gaze into the distance, then growling in annoyance. Kenpachi closed his eye, ignoring the butterfly's approach as beside him, Yoshirou curled his stomach muscles in, before fluently flipping up to his feet.

Bored of her chase of the insects, Yachiru noticed the sudden movement, calling up-"Yoshi-kun?" From his still lying position, Kenpachi growled out to the little girl-"Ignore him, seems he's got some business to deal with." However, as the butterfly drew closer, Yoshirou started to doubt it was for him, he couldn't hear the almost telekinetic chime warning that came to alert a shinigami that a hell butterfly was inbound with a message. Instead, Kenpachi grunted, raising his torso from the floor as the butterfly changed course, instead flying for him.

**Why are there orders coming out to Captain's at this time of night?** Yoshirou wondered as Yachiru finally spotted the incoming Hell Butterfly, crying out in childish delight as she set to chasing it down. Fortunately, her charge was interrupted by a small stone, causing her to give out a cry of surprise as she dived headfirst into the soft grass beneath her. By the time he managed to pick herself back up, complaining loudly as she tried to spit out the grass she had accidentally gotten into her mouth, the Hell Butterfly had managed it's flight without any untimely interruptions, and landed softly on Kenpachi's shoulder.

"Tch, what a pain in the ass…"-Kenpachi growled as the butterfly took flight once more, it's message delivered telekinetically to the Captain, before he suddenly rose completely, shouting out-"Oi Yachiru, we got work to do!"

"Eh? What's happening for you to be summoned?"-Yoshirou asked in surprise as Yachiru ran up from the grassy area, easily hopping up onto the veranda, and from their jumping high up onto Kenpachi's shoulder with a giggle, taking her customary place while shouting-"Let's go Ken-chan!"

Kenpachi growled out in seeming annoyance, before answering-"Hollow clean up, seems a couple managed to get in by the east section of Seireitei." **Hollow clean up?** Yoshirou wondered with surprise. Such a mission as dealing with ordinary hollow's would normally never be given out to a Captain unless the hollows were Gillian or above, and even then it would be directed to the Vice Captains unless Adjuchas or above, something that hadn't happened in centuries. What made it more confusing was the order came to this division; they were almost on opposite ends of the Seireitei, making it unwise to deliver such a mission to the directionally challenged 11th division Captain.

Kenpachi seemingly didn't notice Yoshirou's sudden lapse into thought, instead twisting his neck left and right, causing the tendons in his neck to crack loudly as he complained-"It's a shitty job alright, but I need to loosen up my muscles anyway, still a tad sore from fighting for so long." At this, Kenpachi regarded the younger looking Captain with a wolfish, almost predatory smile as he said-"First time in a century that I had a battle that lasted for a good few hours, need to get used to it again, especially if we are going to be killing Aizen in a few months' time."

Yoshirou nodded in reply, trying to ignore the savage expression on the Captain's face. Turning away, Yoshirou said-"Well, today was pretty fun, might go for another round some other time but you had best get going-" However, halfway through his words, a hand suddenly landed on his shoulder, an iron grip holding him place as the Captain gruffly said-"Oi, you're coming too!"

Yoshirou was half tempted to break the grip on his body and make a run for it, but he knew the Captain all too well, Kenpachi would definitely give chase across half of Seireitei if he tried running now, and while he was pretty confident he could escape the Captain, while the chase was on those hollow's would continue to wreak havoc. As he breathed out in defeat, another reason presented itself to him. They were indeed on the wrong side of Seireitei, and without somebody to guide him, Kenpachi would obviously get lost, leaving the Hollows without a person to clean them up.

With a sigh of defeat, Yoshirou relented, saying-"Alright you win, I'll come along too, just we are following my directions, not that *intuition* of yours!" Kenpachi didn't even register the potential insult, he knew just as much as everybody else did that he sucked in directions, and was pretty suspicious the guide he kept on his shoulder sucked just as badly. Releasing his grip on the Kidou Captain's Haori, Kenpachi grunted in agreement, before gruffly saying-"Well, let's get a move on then, I've got stuff to kill."

* * *

><p>(P.O.V)<p>

Unnoticed to the Shinigami Captains, on the rooftop of a storage warehouse nearby, a pair of individuals watched them from afar. "Keh, so these are the two Captains Muramasa wants out of the way?"-The leaner of the two individuals said disappointedly. This person stood as though he was human, thin arms casually hefting a giant Kusurigama in each hand, both connected by a long chain that looked deceptively short all things considered. However, it was easy to tell he couldn't be human from the rest of him, his body almost like a three dimensional human shaped shadow outlined in red, covered slightly with dark grey strips of cloth across his shoulders, legs, and arms, leaving an impressive, if not human like, set of pectorals outline in red for the world to see. Long black hair trailing down his back as he regarded the two shinigami below him.

"C'mon Kazeshini, you got to get a good look at them, now let's hurry up and get out of here."-a giant figure behind him grumbled. This man was also only a facsimile of human, he looked more akin to an Oni, but even this looked more human than his gangly comrade. A long spear was held casually between massive trunk like brown arms, his wrists seemingly covered in huge tufts of orange hair. Across his completely bare torso, a black tattoo of a dragon stretched straight across his chest. However, the most noticeable aspect had to be the hair, an absolutely huge mane of orange hair stretching down his back almost the whole way to the floor.

"Kehah! Although the one eyed one looks like he would be fun, that thin one looks weak as hell! What's so special about these two then?"-The first being who somehow bore the name of Hisagi's zanpakutou challenged almost in outrage to his temporary comrade. However, the Oni just gave a massive yawn in response, his gravelly voice returning-"Who cares? Like hell if I know, all I know is that we're late, Muramasa told us to all go to the places where we could find the most shinigami, and wait for his signal, now c'mon we need to get our asses moving already."

"Damn it Hozukimaru, they look so weak though, we can just kill em here and that saves us all the bother, right?"-Kazeshini countered back to his comrade, however a meaty hand dropped on his shoulder, Hozukimaru rumbling-"Drop it, you know the orders, if Muramasa didn't summon them, then we leave any Captain class be for him to deal with later."

"Keh, screw those orders!"-Kazeshini replied back, suddenly hefting his massive scythes, his legs tensing, arms already drawn back as he prepared to leap up high and hurl his weapons at the unsuspecting backs of the two Captains below. However, Hozukimaru was having none of it, his grip suddenly intensifying into bone crushing strength, causing Kazeshini to quietly shriek out-"That hurts you bastard! I'll kill you! Lemme go, I'm gonna crush those two weaklings!"

Below, the two Captains started to walk away, their conversation barely audible to their ears as Yoshirou laughed, saying-"Hey, don't go killing them straight away, let me have some fun first!" Kenpachi just grunted in reply, continuing to follow Yoshirou lest he get lost on the way to the foreseeable killing grounds.

Back on the rooftops, Hozukimaru watched their movements, even as Kazeshini continued to try and break free from his grip, he watched as the two Captains vanished, one with a shunpo step, the other with just an explosive dash. Breathing out slowly, he finally relinquished his grip on the other zanpakutou's body, ignoring the stream of curse words and death threats Kazeshini poured out at him. Once again, he hefted his spear, resting it against his shoulder instead as he rumbled-"C'mon, let's get going already."

"You bastard, before this is over I'm gonna kill you as well!"-Kazeshini shouted out, no longer having to lower his voice to avoid attention now the two Captains had departed. Hozukimaru just grunted in reply, before turning away from Kazeshini, saying-"Let's go, or do you want to explain to Muramasa why we were so late for the party?" Kazeshini suddenly stopped his outburst, thoughts of having to explain that he deliberately ignored orders for his own interest to their enigmatic leader even had his bloodthirsty mind worried.

"Keh, all right, but I swear you're gonna pay for stopping me from killing those two!"-Kazeshini said back scathingly, hefting his Kusurigama as the chains jingled with his movements as he turned to follow the other zanpakutou.

Give it to him, he was fast, it only took half a second for the thought to penetrate the Zanpakutou's thoughts. **Jingle?**

Too late, that half a second took too long as Kazeshini was suddenly alerted to a pressure against his neck. His eyes darting down in shock, he could see a katana blade extending past his neck, the blade obviously held level with his throat. Even in the instance of shock, his eyes registered the elaborate Kanji wrote across the beautiful blade's surface.

"The blade…that defends…the cherished…?"-Kazeshini read as his mind finally picked up on the presence behind him. Ahead of him Hozukimaru turned his head in surprise, as he did so saying-"Eh? You say something?" However, his eyes widened greater still as they first saw the insane grin that lit up the face of the man who now stood behind him, an eye patch over one eye and the huge scar across the other only adding to the intimidation of that grin. That and the almost serrated blade that rested lightly on the white Haori the individual wore, marking him out as a Captain.

With an exclamation of surprise, Hozukimaru kicked off against the rooftop, flying further away from the demonic man before him, landing further away across the roof as he saw the full situation before him. The two Captains hadn't been unaware after all, they had simply waited for the best opening, and they had it. Hozukimaru's expression darkened as he saw the blade pressed against Kazeshini's neck, Kazeshini's teeth clenched in anger at how easily he had been caught. Hozukimaru couldn't make any moves, not only was the man before him radiating out bloodlust and killing intent, all promising a quick death, but if he attacked or ran, Kazeshini would be destroyed immediately by the other Captain.

"I don't know why you two were watching us, but you made a fatal mistake in targeting us, it was all too easy to pick up on that killing intent earlier…"-Yoshirou announced darkly from behind Kazeshini's back, his zanpakutou held over Kazeshini's shoulder, edge pointing towards his vulnerable throat. The zanpakutou spirit risked turning his head to get a good look at the Captain behind him as he swore under his breath. Now he got a clear look at the man, Kazeshini realised his mistake, this man was strong, you could tell just from his expression, there was no cocky look of success, no fear of the unknown, just a determined expression.

"If your partner hadn't stopped you from attacking, I would have levelled the entire warehouse with one kido blast before you could have even thrown those weapons at us, it's only because he showed rational thought that we are talking now."-Yoshirou again said darkly. Kazeshini could only grit his teeth in anger, the words that he had overheard the two Captains saying now making sense if he considered that they had detected him before they had spoken.

"Don't go killing them straight away…"

"Keh, you cocky bastard…"-Kazeshini growled back, carefully trying to twist the weapons in his hand until the points would be aiming at the Captain, and then impale him. However, that attempt was cut short as Kazeshini'e eyes widened in shock. Without warning, a chain of golden light had suddenly wrapped around his body, emitted from the Captain's free arm, binding his arms in place as Yoshirou intoned-"Bakudo no. 63, Sajo Sabaku!" As the chains tightened sharply, Kazeshini lost his grip on the Kusarigama, both of them dropping to the rooftop with a metallic clang. All it took was a small push in the middle of his back, and Kazeshini unwillingly fell to his knees, cursing loudly at the Shinigami.

Lifting his blade away, he now pointed the Zanpakuto at the second foe, the Oni's features tightening as Yoshirou fixed a glare into his eyes as well. Yoshirou simply said one word-"Surrender!" Houzukimaru could only growl in response, however, with the giant man barely a meter away from him, he knew he had two Captains ready and able to destroy him, and he knew he couldn't escape. "Damn, what a disgrace…"-Hozukimaru grumbled as he abruptly sat down on the roof, dropping his spear to the side as he surrendered to the two Captains.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter over! Yeah, kinda surprising, I picked two of the four zanpakuto Muramasa sent out to destroy parts of the Seireitei and had them encounter the two Captains. Now, if you haven't guessed, the Hollow summons was meant to distract Kenpachi from joining the battle atop Soukyoku, this might have been what happened in cannon, since when he arrived later on, Kenpachi claimed he had been chasing hollows. However, instead since Yoshirou and Kenpachi were together, I put Kazeshini as unable to hold back his need to kill them, and in doing so messes up Muramasa's plan to keep both Kenpachi and Yoshirou away from Soukyoku, so it should be fun to see what happens next.<strong>

**Oh, and the reason why I have put them as being captured is simply because Yoshirou has no idea who or what they are, he doesn't know they are zanpakutou at all.**

**Anyhow, hope to see you all next time! For those who read the Naruto story (Special thanks to EVA Saiyajin! Always nice to get a certified new reader for that story!), the next chapter is almost complete and should be up within 1-2 days, so cya all next time!**

**P.S Does anybody know a way to do the ? followed by ! in text? Every time I try, the document reader deletes one of the two, so is it possible to get around this? Please help if you know!**


End file.
